Penelope Pussycat is an animated cartoon character, featured in the Warner Bros classic ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

'' animated shorts as the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the

Pepé Le Pew Pepé Le Pew is an animated character from the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons, introduced in 1945. Depicted as a French striped skunk, Pepé is constantly on the quest for love. However, his offensive ...

shorts. Although she is typically a non-speaker, her "meows" and " purrs" (or "le mews" and "le purrs") were most often provided by

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...

using a feminine voice. The character did not originally have a permanent name; she was alternately referred to as "Penelope", "Fifi", "Pussycat Purr", and "Fabrette", and animator

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...

' 1960 model sheet simply calls her "Le Cat". The name Penelope Pussycat was created retroactively for Warner Bros. marketing. The character first appeared in the 1949 short ''

For Scent-imental Reasons ''For Scent-imental Reasons'' is a 1949 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on November 12, 1949, and stars Pepé Le Pew and Penelope Pussycat. It won the Academy Awa ...

'', which won an Academy Award. While the skunk had been used in several earlier cartoons since ''

Odor-able Kitty ''Odor-able Kitty'' is a 1945 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on January 6, 1945, and was the first appearance of the romantic skunk Pepé Le Pew. The scriptwriter was Tedd Pierce. Jones, a c ...

'' (1945), the addition of his female pussycat paramour in ''For Scent-imental Reasons'' solidified his characterization and the structure of all further Pepé films. As the unfortunate target of unwanted physical attention, the character has been examined in feminist film criticism as an example of a "rape-revenge narrative"; however, this reading is complicated by the ending of some of the cartoons, which flip the dynamic and leave Pepé as the unwilling recipient of the cat's affections. In the 1959 short '' Really Scent'', she was voiced by June Foray. Her first (and so far only) speaking role was in the 1995 short ''

Carrotblanca ''Carrotblanca'' is a 1995 8-minute ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon. It was originally shown in theaters alongside ''The Amazing Panda Adventure'' (in North America) and ''The Pebble and the Penguin'' (internationally). It was subsequently released on ...

,'' where she is voiced by Tress MacNeille.

History

Penelope Pussycat is best known as the often bewildered love interest of ''Looney Tunes''' anthropomorphic skunk, Pepé Le Pew. Penelope is a black and white cat, who often finds herself with a white stripe down her back, whether painted intentionally or by accident. She often finds herself being chased by the overly enthusiastic Pepé, but when the occasion has presented itself, Penelope has been portrayed as the pursuer. ''

,'' ''

Little Beau Pepé Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

,'' and '' Really Scent'' have all shown Penelope to harbor an attraction to Pepé whenever his scent is neutralized (though in each cited instance, extenuating circumstances have caused Pepé to become repulsed by her, inciting Penelope to reverse the roles). In current Warner Bros. merchandise, Penelope and Pepé are portrayed as sharing a mutual attraction towards each other, whereas the ''Looney Tunes'' comic book series maintains their chasing relationship. ''

'' featured her as the Ilsa analogue to Bugs Bunny's Rick, with

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

portraying her husband and Pepe being a minor pursuer. Penelope Pussycat partly inspired the '' Tiny Toon Adventures'' character

Furrball The ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' animated television series features an extensive cast of characters. The show's central characters are mostly various forms of anthropomorphic animals, based on Looney Tunes characters from earlier films and shows. ...

, a male cat who, in one episode, is chased by an amorous female skunk (

Fifi La Fume The ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' animated television series features an extensive cast of characters. The show's central characters are mostly various forms of anthropomorphic animals, based on Looney Tunes characters from earlier films and show ...

) due to getting a white stripe painted down his back and tail. Penelope remained without an official name for many years. In the 1954 short, '' The Cat's Bah'', her mistress referred to her as "Penelope". The name was later contradicted in the 1955 short, ''

Two Scent's Worth ''Two Scent's Worth'' is a 1955 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' short directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on October 15, 1955, and stars Pepé Le Pew. Plot In the small village of Nasty Pass, within the French Alps, a man (in fact a ...

'', where she was identified as "Fifi". In the 1959 short, '' Really Scent'', she was called Fabrette. A model sheet from the early 1990s referred to the character as "Le Cat". The 1995 release of ''

'' (a parody of ''

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

'') canonized her name as "Penelope Pussycat", with many advertisements for the short crediting her as "Penelope Pussycat in her first speaking role".

Appearances

Classic shorts

* ''

'' (1949) * ''

Scent-imental Romeo ''Scent-imental Romeo'' is a 1951 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' animated short directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on March 24, 1951, and stars Pepé Le Pew. Plot In the Paris Zoo, Penelope Pussycat is starving and tries to beg the ...

'' (1951) * ''

'' (1952) * ''

The Cats Bah ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1954) * ''

Past Perfumance The past is the set of all events that occurred before a given point in time. The past is contrasted with and defined by the present and the future. The concept of the past is derived from the linear fashion in which human observers experience ...

'' (1955) * ''

Heaven Scent Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belief ...

'' (1956) * ''

Touché and Go ''Touché and Go'' is a 1957 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on October 12, 1957, and stars Pepé Le Pew and Penelope Pussycat. Plot As a street painter paints out a white line in the middle ...

'' (1957) * '' Really Scent'' (1959) * ''

Who Scent You? ''Who Scent You?'' is a 1960 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on April 23, 1960, and stars Pepé Le Pew and Penelope Pussycat. Plot Penelope notices a luxurious ocean liner (the "Eel de France, ...

'' (1960) * ''

A Scent of the Matterhorn ''A Scent of the Matterhorn'' is a 1961 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon written and directed by Chuck Jones (credited as M. Charl Jones). The short was released on June 24, 1961, and stars Pepé Le Pew. The title is a play on the phrase "as ...

'' (1961) * ''

Louvre Come Back to Me! ''Louvre Come Back to Me!'' is a 1962 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on August 18, 1962, and stars Pepé Le Pew in his last cartoon of the "classic" Warner Bros. animation age. Plot In Paris, ...

'' (1962)

Other media

* '' Tiny Toon Adventures'' (1990–1992) * ''

'' (1995) * '' Space Jam'' (1996) (cameo) * '' Tweety's High-Flying Adventure'' (2000) * '' Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' (2003) * '' Looney Tunes: Back in Action (video game)'' (2003) (cameo) * '' Loonatics Unleashed'' (2005–2007) (cameo) * '' Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas'' (2006) * '' The Looney Tunes Show'' (2011–2014) * '' Space Jam: A New Legacy'' (2021) (teaser advertisement only)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penelope Pussycat Fictional cats Looney Tunes characters Fictional mute characters Fictional anthropomorphic characters Fictional French people Film characters introduced in 1949 Female characters in animation